Delta, United, Alaska: No guns in luggage for DC flights

Airlines and airports say they are stepping up security before next week's presidential inauguration, with Delta, United and Alaska saying they will prohibit passengers flying to the Washington area from putting guns in checked bags.

The moves follow the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and politically tinged confrontations on some flights.

Delta and United said their bans on checking guns to Washington-area airports will start Saturday and run through Inauguration Day until the following weekend.

"We are all on high alert based on the events over the last couple weeks up in Washington,″ CEO Ed Bastian said Thursday on CNBC.

Other airlines did not announce changes to their gun-shipping policies, but some announced other measures. American Airlines is bringing back a ban on serving alcohol on flights to and from the Washington area — flights go dry starting Saturday through next Thursday. Several airlines are moving crews out of downtown Washington hotels for their safety.

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will raise enforcement of rules against interfering with or assaulting airline crew members or other passengers. The FAA said that for the next two months it will stop giving warnings to violators and will instead refer their cases to law enforcement for potential charges, fines and jail terms.

FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson cited recent disturbances on planes, adding there has been “a trend after the breach of the Capitol last week.”

Key lawmakers and the head of the nation’s largest union of flight attendants have asked the FBI to place Capitol rioters on the federal no-fly list. An FBI official said Tuesday that such a move was being considered. The FBI did not immediately...